Quilight Zone: Crosswalk
by Joe Little
Summary: Back-to-cold-cruel-school is a typical theme in the New Year. Holiday break is followed by the return of students/teachers to college paper and pen. Hal Bixton is no exception to the winter blahs: the miracle of Christmas has come & gone; now there are tests to grade & students to fail. For Bixton the gift that keeps giving had given out. A visit from an old pal will change that


CROSSWALK

Prologue - You're traveling into a new creation, a city on a hill, a journey to a land of quiet constellation. In the still of the night, that's the lamp-post up ahead, your next stop: the Quilight Zone.

CROSSWALK

Back-to-school is a prominent theme in the New Year. Holidays (Christmas etc) and snow days are followed immediately by the return of students & teachers to dreaded paper and pen. Dr. Hal Bixton-bless his heart-was no exception to the winter blahs. The miracle of Christmas had come and gone-now there were tests to grade, students to fail. For Dr Bixton, the gift that keeps giving had just about give' out.

Certainly, his encounter with the Singer and Nativity had changed his life forever for better. Bixton was more outgoing and positive in his approach to the pupils and treatment of the subject matter respectively. Students and fellow faculty noted a peaceful easy feeling in place of the negative, bitter barbs of the past. Even so, by late March the thrill was gone; tho transformed, Bixton lacked a personal growth.

Such was the climate as Bixton contemplated matters in his dreary office one late March afternoon. While staring blankly at the myriad sticky notes and calendar on the walls of his tiny, claustrophobic office, he heard a knock on the door. "Yes" he said, continuing his daydream.

"I hope i'm not disturbing you Dr. Bixton," said a familiar voice.

A look of astonishment came over Bixton as he recognized the Singer's face. "It's you! Come. It's terrific to see you. I never in my LIFE thought i'd see you again. Please sit down."

"No time for that," said the Singer. "Crosswalk is coming!"

"Crosswalk?" asked the puzzled professor.

The Singer, though retired since that performance in Bethlehem, cleared his throat, then burst into song:

Let me lift you up  
to a place that's fair:  
Old Salem square,  
Everyone's there.

And something i can sing about:  
Everything's real at Crosswalk  
Everyone feels at Crosswalk,  
Jesus revealed at Crosswalk.

Mesmerized by the singer's angelic voice, Bixton allowed himself to be led over to the window. Peering outside & seeing nothing of consequence, Bixton paused, then turned to the gentleman, who continued to gaze thru the window, expectantly. "Forgive me, but what exactly am i looking for?" asked Bixton.

"Be patient ..." said the singer, "u'll see." Sure enough, a few seconds later Bixton's attention focused in the distance. There, a group of folks, two or three dozen, were carrying a large wood cross. There were kids of all ages: children, teens & adults. Some would carry the cross, while others followed alongside, or behind. On several occasions the burden of a cross bearer would be relieved by another. Yet everyone walked in silence. The group came to a halt in a clearing, where a brass band had gathered. As some in the group stood the cross against a tree, the band began to play and the people sang:

There is a green hill far away  
without a city wall,  
where our dear Lord was crucified.  
He died to save us all

Bixton wiped tears from his eyes then turned to the Singer. He wasn't there. Bixton bolted over to the door, but it was too late. The singer was gone. Altho disappointed by this sudden exit on the part of the singer, Bixton turned to return to the window, so as not to miss another second of the moving Cross Walk. Then he gasped in horror, reaching for the door frame to steady himself.

Bixton didn't want to recall but his eyes confirmed: his was- and ever had been- a windowless office. Tears again filled Bixton's eyes. He stumbled toward his desk and the trusty box of tissues that passed as a paper weight. Blowing his nose, he slumped in his chair. Replacing the tissue box, he noticed for the first time a note that he should have known would be there. It read:

_Dr. Bixton,_  
_You look so involved I don't have the heart to disturb you. Your little babe in the manger grew up to carry the cross and pay the price. But the mighty thing is He rose again to put a Crown on your head - you know the story. Well, those young people walk it. You go & do the same. I pray that God blesses YOUR crosswalk! Singer out_

Postscript: Dr Hal Bixton, practiced in the art of world weariness now vitalized by a choral gift from an old buddy. You won't find a framed certificate for it on his office wall but u will find a handwritten letter, a cherished keepsake regarding a crosswalk in...The Quilight Zone.


End file.
